On the day that Microsoft announced a major initiative
to clamp down on black market and counterfeit software, a former
Microsoft employee pleaded guilty to illegally selling millions of
pounds worth of Microsoft software for his own profit.
The 36-year-old former employee, described as an assistant at
the Seattle company, was accused of stealing software worth a total
£3.8m.
He has admitted ordering software through the company’s internal
system after pretending that it was for corporate use.
The case is the latest in a series of similar prosecutions at
the company, which had led to Microsoft trying to clamp down on
internal theft at the end of 2003.
The latest employee to have been caught resigned from Microsoft
early last year. Other employees who worked with him are expected
to face theft charges at a later date.
Microsoft yesterday introduced an anti-piracy initiative that
would make it more difficult for illegal users of its software in
targeted countries to be able to get free updates and patches to
their software.
